The Boston Bruins may have parted ways with Mitchell Miller this week just two days after signing him to a three-year entry-level contract, but the fallout from their decision is far from over.
On Wednesday, Miller’s victim, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, shared his account of the abuse he suffered at the hands of Miller for practically his entire adolescent life for the first time in a public forum, coming via a statement released by the Hockey Diversity Alliance.
Be warned, the details are graphic and could be triggering to some readers.
As he details in his statement, Meyer-Crothers was subject to horrific racial and ableist bullying ever since his time in the first grade. Meyer-Crothers describes Miller as coercing him into thinking they were friends before physically assaulting him or publically embarrassing him, forcing him to clean their table in the lunch room and endure relentless racial slurs.
Meyer-Crothers also outlines how Miller did not reach out to him until the middle of October when Miller sent him a Snapchat and Instagram direct message to apologize for his actions while also stating that his apology was not related to the furtherment of his career in hockey.
When asked to provide proof demonstrating how he’s changed and learned from his past behavior, Meyer-Crothers said Miller did not give that proof. And, based on the timeline of events that led up to the signing this past Friday, Miller would have reached out to Meyer-Crothers while the Bruins were in the process of vetting whether they were going to give him a contract.
According to Meyer-Crothers, the Bruins’ decision to sign Miller has only sparked further harassment directed towards him, with his social media being filled with hateful and racially-based insults and threats. Even after an entire adolescence of torture fuelled by Miller, he still cannot escape it.
One can only imagine the bravery it took for Meyer-Crothers to finally share his story with the world.
